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By GERAINT TUDUR (Cardiff: U. of Wales P., 2000; pp. 314. 25 £). AUTOCRATIC, domineering, overbearing, dictatorial, imperious, humourless, stubborn and fallible: these are some of the adjectives used by [...]

Thirty years ago David Williams's masterly study of modern Wales, first published in 1950, was still the only authoritative textbook available for sixth-form students, college students and the lay reader [...]

Class, Community and Culture in Tudor Wales (Cardiff: U. of Wales P., 1989; pp. xxi + 300. £29.50), ed. J. Gwynfor Jones, is a collection of essays, the bulk of [...]

Historical studies relating to the town (now city) of Swansea are rolling off the presses with such disconcerting speed that the recent claim by an eminent historian that, of all [...]

Investigates the effect of the antihypercholesterolemic drug simvastatin on ejection fraction (EF) in cardiac transplant patients. Correlation between total cholesterol and EF; Decrease in low density lipoprotein cholesterol; Reduction of natural killer cell activity; Improvement of EF in cardiac transplant recipients.

Background Early discontinuation of P2Y 12 antagonists post-percutaneous coronary intervention may increase risk of stent thrombosis or nonstent recurrent myocardial infarction. Our aims were to (1) analyze the early discontinuation rate of P2Y 12 antagonists post-percutaneous coronary intervention, (2) explore factors associated with early discontinuation, and (3) analyze the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (death, acute coronary syndrome, revascularization, or stroke) associated with discontinuation from a prespecified prescribing instruction of 1 year. Method and Results We studied 2090 patients (2011-2015) who were recommended for clopidogrel for 12 months (+aspirin) post-percutaneous coronary intervention within a retrospective observational population cohort. Relationships between clopidogrel discontinuation and major adverse cardiac events were evaluated over 18-month follow-up. Discontinuation of clopidogrel in the first 4 quarters was low at 1.1%, 2.6%, 3.7%, and 6.1%, respectively. Previous revascularization, previous ischemic stroke, and age >80 years were independent predictors of early discontinuation. In a time-dependent multiple regression model, clopidogrel discontinuation and bleeding (hazard ratio=1.82 [1.01-3.30] and hazard ratio=5.30 [3.14-8.94], respectively) were independent predictors of major adverse cardiac events as were age <49 and ≥70 years (versus those aged 50-59 years), hypertension, chronic kidney disease stage 4+, previous revascularization, ischemic stroke, and thromboembolism. Furthermore, in those with both bleeding and clopidogrel discontinuation, hazard ratio for major adverse cardiac events was 9.34 (3.39-25.70). Conclusions Discontinuation of clopidogrel is low in the first year post-percutaneous coronary intervention, where a clear discharge instruction to treat for 1 year is provided. Whereas this is reassuring from the population level, at an individual level discontinuation earlier than the intended duration is associated with an increased rate of adverse events, most notably in those with both bleeding and discontinuation.